Ten people have died after a Texas prison bus carrying 15 people went off a bridge, landed on a railway and was struck by a train.

The accident involved a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) vehicle transporting inmates from Abilene to El Paso on Wednesday morning. The bus was hit by a Union Pacific freight train.

The Medical Center Hospital in Odessa told Sky News they have received five patients from the accident who are in a "serious or critical condition".

Local media are reporting deaths - according to a CBS station, two prison officers and eight prisoners were killed.

TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark told the Associated Press news agency the bus was carrying 12 prisoners and three corrections officers.